I have never seen India play so badly: Ganguly

Even as India struggle to create any sort of impact in what is turning out to be a disastrous tour of England, former skipper Sourav Ganguly has said that he is appalled at the way India have played on this tour and he has never seen them perform so badly over the last 10 years.

The batsmen have struggled barring Rahul Dravid, the bowling looks inconsistent and the ground fielding and the catching has gone to pieces. India will go into Day 4 still needing a further 451 runs to avoid a humiliating innings defeat.

"I agree (with the criticism), and let us accept we were very ordinary. The worst day was Thursday (second day of the match where India could take only three wickets for 372 runs from 90 overs). I have not seen an Indian team like this in the last 10 years," Ganguly, one of India's most successful captains told BBC's Test Match Special programme in an interview.

India are trailing the 4 match series 2-0 and are in real danger of losing their No.1 Test ranking. They have been criticized for the lack of planning which has resulted in fatigue and injuries to some of their key players.

But Ganguly believes that it was the lack of preparation which has resulted in India's dismal performance in the series.

"You cannot just turn up and win Test series against good sides," said the cricketer-turned-commentator.

"I've felt that when we guys from the subcontinent went to England, Australia or South Africa we needed two warm-up games (India had just the one practice match before this series). And look at England in Australia a few months ago: they had three proper warm-up games and had other guys out there as well on standby," he added.

Insisting that the end of the England series would not be the end of the careers for the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, the former Test cricketer said, "We have a tour of Australia this winter and really need to take the likes of Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman there.

"This is the first series we have done poorly, home or away, for the last seven or eight years. It is just one of those series that haven't gone well for India."

He, however, admitted that it was disappointing that players of the caliber of Tendulkar, so far, have looked so ordinary.

"But, yes, it is disappointing because I can tell you that, as Indians, we really look forward to this tour. People like Dravid and Tendulkar take a lot of pride in performing over here.

"Test cricket matters to us. Indian people still want their team to be No 1 in Test cricket. The World Cup is special for any country. But Test cricket is the format of the game," he insisted.

Ganguly supported the under fire coach Duncan Fletcher by saying that he will enjoy his experience with the Indian team.

"These are very mature boys. And I guarantee you, Duncan Fletcher will have a good time looking after them. He's had a tough time so far this series. But I bet once they start winning he will have a great time because they are well behaved, professional people," Ganguly said.